Tehran – The United States and China have one of the most complicated historical relations in the world. Since 1949, the country has experienced both tension and cooperation over issues such as trade, climate change, and Taiwan.
At a recent UN Security Council meeting in New York, the Chinese Prime Minister showed a desire for stable US relations and urged American leaders to help maintain the fragile detente between Beijing and Washington.
Today, American policymakers fear that China will jump over the US with today’s most important technologies, such as robotics and artificial intelligence.
Beijing and Washington compete for geopolitical global influence. Examples are Beijing’s fierce opposition that the US will return to Afghanistan’s abandoned Bagram Air Force Base, about 800km from China.
Bagram Air Base’s proximity to China has prompted Trump to suggest that he should once again be under US control. “One of the reasons we want a base is, you know, that China is an hour away from where it makes nuclear weapons,” Trump said in London last month.
China is the largest trading partner of the Islamic Republic and maintains close bilateral relations and mutual understanding on global issues. Reports on Iran’s surge in rough imports into China are under close scrutiny in the West.
Despite the geopolitical rivalry between the two powers, the end result is determined by their technical know-how and economic well-being.
This article focuses on the competition between two rivals in the economic and technical field.
China’s economic skills
US President Donald Trump’s administration sees China’s economic rise and its growing scientific capabilities as a threat to the global hegemony of the United States.
As of August 25, China has become the home of the world’s largest foreign exchange reserve, reaching a 10-year high of USD 3.322 trillion. Japan has the second largest US dollar reserve, followed by Switzerland and India.
America remains the largest economy in the world. When will China surpass the US? Based on forecasts on growth rates, currency and more, experts believe China’s big day will soon arrive.
Foreign reserves allow China’s central banks to effectively retain dollar-controlled assets. The most important reason for China to accumulate these assets is due to the trade imbalance between the two countries, as China exports more to the US than to import.
Trump responded by increasing the tariffs of an additional 50% from April 9, raising the baseline tariff on Chinese imports to 104%. In retaliation, Beijing raised baseline tariffs on American goods to 84%. The US then raised 145%, and on April 11th, China raised 125%.
The trade surplus with the US has skyrocketed over the past five years. For example, China currently operates a massive trade surplus with cars, with 6 million Chinese vehicles entering the US market this year.
The surplus of current accounts with the US in 2024 was approximately $430 billion.
technology
Today, China leads the world in total personnel, but it still lacks highly skilled personnel. In 2023, China spent more than $780 billion on research and development compared to about $823 million in the US, according to recent OECD data.
China is rapidly adopting more headhunters from all over the world, especially the outstanding young Chinese talents who have left China towards the US
Trump has pushed for significant cuts in the federal research budget, strengthened government research surveillance, and significantly increased the prices of H1-B visas for professional foreign workers. China sees these changes as gifts from Trump and is looking for many talents to return home.
This week, the launch of China’s “K-Visa” scheme aims to support the science and technology industry, saying analysts will appeal to Chinese and skilled workers overseas.
“Chinese universities are turning backwards to actively utilize this opportunity,” said Luu Yuan, a protein chemist who was a professor at the University of Maryland before moving to Shanghai’s famous University of Hudang in 2020, adding that “scientists with overseas education are returning to China with a “robust trend.”
The K-Visa scheme was first announced in August and unfolded on October 1st. Unlike existing schemes, applicants do not need to be sponsored by Chinese employers. The scheme reduces deficits due to the application process and encourages talent and entrepreneurs in education into science and technology.
In the 1980s, the United States won competition from its biggest rival of the time, Japan. With the current trend, China is currently set to compete with the US as a leader in technology and talent.
Finally, critics say that fusion power generation will be the next trend in energy generation. Although there is no greenhouse gas emissions, unlike fission, it is completely safe, has little waste, and is much more abundant in fuel than uranium.
The Chinese government has made fusion power a national priority and last month launched the state-owned China Fusion Energy Company (CFEC) with a capital of $2.1 billion.
And fusion energy appears to be another way in which the US is bringing global hegemony to China.